Sod-handling machine

ABSTRACT

For picking up precut sod from the ground or other support surface, the lower one of a pair of cyclically driven carriers first nudges the transverse edge of the sod upwardly into engagement with a rearwardly moving reach of an upper cyclic carrier. The confronting reaches of the upper and lower carriers engage opposite surfaces of the slab of sod to feed the sod upwardly into the machine for handling.

United States Patent [72] lnventor John F. Nunes, Jr.

2037 Loquot Ave., Patterson, Calif. 95363 [21] App]. No. 803,825 [22]Filed l98/7X 198/7(BLX) Mar. 3, 1969 Patented May 25, 1971 FOREIGNPATENTS 9/1956 Canada.................

Primary ExaminerEdward A. Sroka Attorney-Flehr, Hohbach, Test, Albrittonand Herbert [54] SOD-HANDLING MACHINE 5 Claims, 10 Drawing Figs.

ABSTRACT: For picking up precut sod from the ground or other supportsurface, the lower one of a v, nd am a m m m P y cea he Met-r f mm mew0. 0m e h c a r 8 driven carriers first nudges the transverse ed wardlyinto engagement with a rearwardly in upper cyclic carrier. Theconfrontin lower carriers engage opposite surfaces of the slab of sod tofeed the sod upwardly into the machine for handling.

PATENTED "M25 ISYI SHEET 1 OF 5 INVENTOR.

' John F Nunes, Jr.

fill, W Attorneys PATENTEU M25197; 3580375 sum 2 OF 5 INVENTOR.

/ i BY John E Nunes, Jr

i 3 f Attorneys PATENIEU W25 I97! 3580,1375

sum 3 BF 5 INVENTOR.

'g' John E Nunes, Jr

PATENTEVD M25 l97l SHEET Q [If 5 v fm INVENTOR.

John E Nunes, J: BY

914 W "orneys PATENTEUMYZSIBYI 3; 580,375

INVENTOR. John F Nunes, Jr.

$44, smug 1,1 44 yw Attorneys SOD-HANDLING MACHINE BACKGROUND OF THEINVENTION This invention relates to apparatus for lifting short lengthsof sod from the ground or other support surface and for feeding the sodto suitable apparatus for handling. The apparatus is particularly usefulin rolling sod into the traditional generally helical form, folding thesod or otherwise. One such sod rolling apparatus is shown in mycopending application Ser. No. 437,5ll, filed Mar. 5, I965.

In harvesting a field of sod, a suitable sod-cutting machine istypically first employed whereby the operator of the sod cutter canproceed independently with maximum precision to cut the sod intoappropriate lengths, slabs or continuous ribbons to be harvested.Following the cutting operation, the sod can be manually collected ontopallets or mechanically harvested, as by means such as shown in theabove-identified patent application.

Where mechanical harvesting is involved, one of the most troublesomeproblems has been the initial gripping and lifting of the sod onto aconveyor where it can be subsequently properly handled. As disclosedherein, an improved means for engaging and picking up the sod strips,slabs, ribbons, etc. has been provided in a manner as generallysummarized below.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION AND-OBJECTS An assembly for picking up sod froma support surface as,

for example, the underlying bare earth from which the sod has beensevered, comprises an upper and lower cyclically driven carrier arrangedin spaced relation to provide confronting reaches of two carriers movingin a common direction to carry the sod therebetween. The leading endportion of the lower carrier is disposed at a level adapted to interceptan edge of the sod to be picked up. Upon engagement with the sod edge,the lower carrier initiates upward movement of the edge in the manner,for example, of nudging the sod upwardly. A portion of the upper carrieris positioned to overhang the leading end portion of the lower carrierso as to provide a moving surface directly in the path of the upwardlymoving edge of sod. The moving surface of the upper carrier is spacedsufficiently closely to the region of initial upward movement of the sodedge so as to engage and direct the rising sod into the spacing definedbetween the confronting reaches of the two carriers.

It is a general object of the present invention to provide an improvedfront end" assembly for sod-harvesting apparatus.

It is another object of the invention to provide an improved sod pickupassembly capable of operating in difficult soil conditions as whererocks, boulders, and the like may be encountered beneath the severedsod, or in uneven ground.

The foregoing and other objects of the invention will become morereadily apparent from the following detailed description of preferredembodiments when considered in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a side elevation view,according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of FIG. 1 taken along the line 2-2 thereof;

FIG. 3 is an elevation view taken along the line 3-3 of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a side elevation section view taken along the line 4-4 of FIG.2;

FIG. 5 is a plan detail view, in section, taken along the line 55 ofFIG. 4; and

FIGS. 6A6E are side elevation views sequentially arranged to show thepicking up of an edge of sod according to the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In sod-harvesting apparatus ofthe type referred to in the above-identified application, meansgenerally are provided for engaging and wedging the leading edge of alength of sod upwardly onto an inclined conveyor. The sod is thencarried to a sod-rolling station and such a sod-harvesting apparatus orother sod-handling equipment has been schematically indicated in thedrawing by the reference numeral 10 whereby the sod will be handled asdesired.

As disclosed herein, a particularly improved means for picking up thesod and carrying it through a machine of the above type has beendisclosed in the drawing and is referred to generally as the pickup andtransport assembly 11. Assembly 11 is, of course, carried by the frame12 of sod-handling apparatus I0 and includes an upwardly moving conveyor13. Means, such as the chain belt 14, driven by a power source (notshown), such as a hydraulic motor, serve to rotate the driving axle 16of conveyor 13. A bellcrank 17, held by spring 18, maintains belt 14substantially taut at all times.

A second chain belt 19 is driven from a sprocket located on the shaft 16to drive conveyor 15.

By inspection, it is to be observed that the diameter of the drive gear21 substantially exceeds the diameter of a drive gear carried on shaft16 for driving conveyor 15 whereby the upper conveyor 14 is moved at arate substantially in excess of the linear rate of movement of that ofconveyor 15 upstream of conveyor 14. By providing such speeddifferentials in the conveyor system, the downstream sod pieces separateaway from those immediately following pieces to provide an identifiablegap between each sod piece in the flow of sod.

Means for selectively lifting and lowering conveyors 13, 15 in a mannerserving to raise and lower the pickup assembly 11 (for purposes morefully explained below appertaining to feeding of continuous sod ribbons)includes the hydraulic ram 22 operated by suitable conventional controllevers to move between advanced and retracted positions limited, in itslower movement, by the provision of a predetermined stop 23 carried on aguide shaft 24 adapted to enter, and be guided by, the pivotallysupported piston 26. Upward movement of assembly 11 is limited by thethrow of the piston within hydraulic ram 22. Thus, frame 12 can beraised or lowered selectively as desired between predetermined limits.

Pickup assembly 11 further includes the cyclically trained carrierassembly 27 which serves to make initial contact with the leading edgeof the sod and nudge the sod edge upwardly in a manner whereby the sodthen may be gripped over a substantial portion thereof for properhandling. Carrier assembly 27 comprises a pair of cyclically trainedbelt assemblies 30a, 30b characterized by a series of individuallyarticulated spaced cleats 28 carried on chain link belts 29, 30 trainedabout sprockets 31, 32.

Each cleat 28 includes a pair of outwardly facing sod-engaging edges28a, 28b which flank an annular groove 33 therebetween.

The shape of groove 33 tends to readily discharge soil, pebbles and thelike which otherwise could impair the functioning of edges 28a, 28b ifpermitted to become caked within the gap between edges 28a, 28b. Thedual edges 28a, 2812 are of a stiff but resilient deformable material,such as one of the tougher plastics now widely in use. This resiliencepermits the edges 28 to work" and thereby further aid in keeping groove33 free of caked material.

Extensible belt support arms 34 space the sprockets 31, 32 fortensioning and supporting belts 29, 30 to pivot about the transversesupport rod 36.

Hence, each of two series of cleats is carried for cyclic movement bybelt assemblies 30a, 30b. Each assembly 30a, 30b is mounted at its rearend for pivotal movement about the axis defined by rod 36.

Thus, the lower carrier 27 includes both a first and second series ofsod-engaging elements, such as cleats 28, travelling in laterally spacedcyclic paths, supported by means which carries each of the two series ofcleats to rise and fall freely in terrain following movementindependently of each other to a limited extent as explained more fullybelow.

Means are provided which serve to limit the excursions of the leadingend portion of each of the two assemblies 30a,

30b. in addition, means are provided serving to space the lowermosttravel of cleats 28 slightly above the level 37 of the bared ground orother support surface which is being exposed by sod 38 as it is beingpicked up from surface 37. In this manner, a leading end portion of thelower carrier 27 travels at a level adapted to intercept the edge 39 ofsod 38 which is to be picked up and, upon engagement therewith, servesto initiate upward movement of the sod edge 39.

Accordingly, an adjustable skid 43 rides along the newly exposed surface37 of the earth and follows the terrain by a pivotal mounting at point46. Skid 43 is carried from the leading end of a forwardly extendingsupport arm 47, braced against the impact of lateral forces by means ofangularly disposed braces 48 welded at their leading ends to the supportarm 47 and mounted at their trailing ends for pivoting movement about atransversely extending axle 49. The trailing end of support arm 47 issimilarly pivotally mounted on the transverse axle 49 whereby skid 43also causes it to rise and fall freely with terrain-following movement.Thus, by adjustment of the height of arm 47 above skid 43, there may beestablished a very close predetermined clearance between the pathtravelled by the outer extremities of cleats 28 and the ground surface37.

Independent movement of assemblies 30a, 30b is limited by means, as nowto be described, all of which rides upon skid 43 in supporting relationwith respect to each of the two independently mounted assemblies 30a,30b.

At the leading end of arm 47, there is mounted a pair of limit flangesor plates 42 between which tabs 41, carried by the forward ends ofsupport arms 34, are free to rise and fall independently of each other.Thus, one of the cyclic cleat belt assemblies 30a, 30b may encounter arock or other obstruction and rise somewhat without elevating the otherbelt. On the other hand, if the obstruction is substantial, both beltsof cleats will be raised, due to the fact that as soon as the lowerlimit plate 42 of one assembly 30a, 30b engages its associated tab 41and continues to rise, the other assembly 30b, 30a of the lower carrier27 will be raised when engagement occurs between the lower limit plate42 and its associated tab 41. Arm 47 is, of course, free to rise andfall due to its pivoted mounting.

However, means for limiting the-downward travel of the cyclic pathdefined by cleats 28 includes the adjustable stop bolts 51 carried inthe outer ends of a pair of rocker arms 52.

Rocker arms 52 are supported for a rocking movement about axle 36. Theother ends of rocker arms 52 serve to carry the belt support arms 34.Bolts 51 are disposed to bear upwardly against the underside 53 of fixedplates 54 bolted to the end of the machine frame.

Bolts 51, therefore, serve to permit the entire front end assembly 27 tobe lifted above the surface of the ground by elevating the lower end offrame 12, as by means of hydraulic ram 22. Thus, both assemblies 300 and30b may be lifted selectively simultaneously and positively by ram 22 tooperate at a level well clear of the ground 37 or other support surface.

An upper carrier assembly 56 serves to provide a cyclic series ofsemirigid backup pads 57 providing surface portions arranged to travelin a generally planar path above the lower carrier 27 and in confrontingspaced relation thereto. The upper carrier assembly 56 extends along andoverlies a major portion of the lower carrier 27 to permit the surfaceportions of pads 57 to engage sod 38 between carrier 27 and 56 over abroad region of the sod.

Upper carrier assembly 56 is arranged whereby pads 57 travel in a cyclicpath which includes a portion that overhangs the leading end portion ofthe lower carrier 27 in a position to intercept upward movement of sodbeing urged upwardly by cleats 28. Therefore, pads 57 serve to form abackstop preventing further upward movement of sod edge 39 at that pointin time when it is being initially moved upwardly. At the same time, therearward movement of pads 57 moves the sod edge 39 rearwardly throughthe space defined between the upper and lower carriers.

Carrier 56 is supported by a pair of extensible support arms 58pivotally mounted at their rear ends about the transversely extendingsupport rod 59.

Pads 57 are carried at their leading ends by a suitable mounting element61 fixed to a link in the support chain 62 whereby each of pads 57 isarticulated independently of the others and at its leading edge. Thus,it will be readily apparent that the trailing edge of pads 57 quicklymakes a broad sweep forwardly in front of the machine as it progressesacross a field, for example, and therefore further projects the backupsurface portions of the cyclic path beyond the front of lower carrier27. In this manner, the upper carrier reaches out" to recapture any sodedges tending to move beyond its grip.

Chains 62 travel about sprockets (not shown) driven by rotation of shaft59. Means for driving shaft 59 includes the cyclic drive chain 64trained about sprockets 66, 67, a tensioning pulley 68 and a drivensprocket 69 mounted by a key to rotate shaft 59.

Means for driving chain 64 via drive sprocket 67 includes the chains 14and 19 described above.

Means disposed between the two carrier assemblies 30a, 30b for providingsupport to the upwardly carried sod 38 includes the three upwardlyinclined and rearwardly tending rigid rods 50 welded to the top surfaceof the transversely extending upper limit plate 42. Thus, as sod movesupwardly along its inclined path, the pebbles and rocks which may beattached to the undersurface of the sod are free to drop downwardlythrough the machine.

Operation of the apparatus described above when picking up lengths ofprecut sod from a field of sod or other support surface 37 may bebriefly reviewed as follows with reference to FIGS. 6A--6E.

From a suitable power takeoff, the chains l4, l9 serve to drive both thelower and upper cyclic carrier assemblies. The confronting reaches ofthe two assemblies 27, 56 move in a common direction rearwardly. The twoconfronting reaches also move at substantially the same speed.

The front end of the lower carrier assembly 27 usually is disposed bythe fixed stop 23 at a level whereby carrier 27 intercepts the edge 39of sod 38. The upwardly moving sod-engaging edges 280, 28b of cleats 28nudge the sod upwardly in an action tending to cause the sod to commenceto roll backwardly on itself. This upward movement of the sod edge 39,however, is immediately interrupted by the rearwardly movingsod-engaging surface portions of backup pads 57 then disposedtransversely to the upwardly moving sod edge. Subsequently, therearwardly moving pads 57 diverge out of engagement with the uppersurface of sod 38 lying on the upper reach of carrier 27 whereby thetrailing ends of pads 57 are permitted to swing out of the way of theupper surface of the sod.

Sod picked up in the manner above described is, of course, positivelydrawn upwardly along its inclined path so that it ultimately reachesconveyor formed of a chain mesh material to permit pebbles and othersmall particles to fall downwardly to the ground. Conveyor 15 runssomewhat slightly faster than the linear speed of carrier 27 deliveringsod to conveyor 15, but is operating at a linear speed slightly lessthan the linear speed of the next subsequent conveyor 13 to which thesod will be delivered.

In the event that the leading portion of carrier 27 encounters anobstacle in the way of one or the other of the two assemblies 300 or30b, that particular assembly will rise to a limited extent due to thefact that it is independently pivotable with respect to the otherassembly. For example, assuming that assembly 300 is initially contactedby a large obstruction, such as a large rock or other obstruction, lyingin its path (but not lying in the path of assembly 30b), assembly 30awill commence to rise until its tab 41 contacts the upper limit plate 42with which it is associated. At that point, arm 47 will rise somewhatuntil the lower limit plate 42 associated with the other tab 41 (carriedby assembly 30b) is ultimately contacted. Further movement of assembly300 will serve to carry both the weight of arm 47 and the restrainingweight of assembly b upwardly to permit assembly 300 to clear the largeobstruction over which it is, passing.

On the other hand, if the obstruction is relatively small, disturbanceof carrier 30b will not be necessary, notwithstanding the fact thatassembly 30a is rising and falling over smaller obstructions in itspath.

In some applications, for example, as where long, continuous ribbons ofprecut sod are to be picked up, the initial pickup is made as describedabove and thereafter ram 22 is operated to elevate the leading end ofcarrier 27 to operate at a level well clear of the ground. Ram 22,therefore, raises the entire pickup assembly 11 from its pivotalmounting point 20.

Also, while merely driving the sod-harvesting equipment to and from itswork location it may be desirable to elevate the front end of theequipment using ram 22.

Finally, even though a tractor, for example, carrying the sod-handlingmachine at its side, may be riding on level ground, the front end pickupassembly 11 can ride on uneven sloping ground and continue to functionefficiently by virtue of the independently supported assemblies 30a,30b.

l claim:

1. in a sod-handling machine having a frame, an assembly carried by theframe for picking up sod to be handled while said frame travels in adirection relative to the sod, cyclically moving carrier means disposedto. include a lower reach moving forwardly in the direction of traveland an upper reach moving rearwardly in an opposite direction foradvancing the sod through the machine, means supporting a leadingportion of said lower reach in closely spaced relation above thesupporting surface being exposed by removal of the sod therefrom, theforwardly moving portions of the carrier means being disposed forengaging that sod to be picked up and serving to initiate upward liftingof the leading edge of said sod, said lower reach moving in thedirection of travel of the machine and including a series of cleatsformed with pairs of outwardly facing sod-engaging ribs flanking anannular groove therebetween, and means supporting said cleats to move ina cyclic path to engage an edge of the sod, and cyclically trainedholddown means disposed above the region of said initial lifting to formrearwardly moving backup surface portions against which said carriermeans directs said sod at the time of initiating said upward lifting ofthe sod, said holddown portions cooperating with said upper reach topositively withdraw the sod and advance same for handling.

2. In a sod-harvesting machine of a type adapted to travel across afield of severed sod and having a frame, an assembly carried by theframe for picking up the sod from the field comprising upper and lowercyclically driven carriers, said carriers being disposed with spaced,confronting portions thereof moving in a common direction and spacedsufiiciently closely to cause said portions to engage the oppositesurfaces of sod to transport sod therebetween, means supporting aleading end portion of the lower carrier to move independently of saidframe to ride with terrain-following movement at a level adapted tointercept an edge of sod to be picked up and upon engagement therewithto initiate upward movement of the sod edge, the last said means furthersupporting said upper carrier disposed above said leading end portion inthe path of said upwardly moved edge and spaced sufficiently closelythereto to engage and draw the rising sod edge between said confrontingportions.

3. In a sod-harvesting machine of a type adapted to travel across afield of severed sod and having a frame, an assembly carried by theframe for picking up the sod from the field comprising upper and lowercyclically driven carriers, said carriers being disposed with spaced,confronting portions thereof moving in a common direction to transportsod therebetween, a leading end portion of thelower carrier beingdisposed at a level adapted to intercept an edge of sod to be picked upand upon engagement therewith to initiate upward movement of the sodedge, said lower carrier including a first and second series ofsod-engaging portions travellin in laterally disposed cyclic paths,means supporting each 0 said first and second series to rise and fallfreely in terrain-following movements within predetermined limits andindependently of each other, said upper carrier being disposed abovesaid leading end portion in the path of said upwardly moved edge andspaced sufficiently closely thereto to engage and direct the rising sodbetween said confronting portions.

4. In a sod-harvesting machine of a type adapted to travel across afield of severed sod and having a frame, an assembly carried by theframe for picking up the sod from the field comprising upper and lowercyclically driven carriers, said carriers being disposed with spaced,confronting portions thereof moving in a common direction to transportsod therebetween, a leading end portion of the lower carrier beingdisposed at a level adapted to intercept an edge of sod to be picked upand upon engagement therewith to initiate upward movement of the sodedge, said lower carrier including independently articulated cleatsformed to include spaced parallel blade por tions extending transverselyof the cyclic path of the lower carrier, said upper carrier beingdisposed above said leading end portion in the path of said upwardlymoved edge and spaced sufficiently closely thereto to engage and directthe rising sod between said confronting portions.

5. In a sod-harvesting machine of a type adapted to travel across afield of severed sod and having a frame, an assembly carried by theframe for picking up the sod from the field comprising upper and lowercyclically driven carriers, said carriers being disposed with spaced,confronting portions thereof moving in a common direction to transportsod therebetween, a leading end portion of the lower carrier beingdisposed at a level adapted to intercept an edge of sod to be picked upand upon engagement therewith to initiate upward movement of the sodedge, said upper carrier being disposed above said leading end portionin the path of said upwardly moved edge and spaced sufficiently closelythereto to engage and direct the rising sod between said confrontingportions, said upper carrier including independently articulated backupsurface portions arranged to travel in a generally planar path abovesaid lower carrier in confronting spaced relation thereto.

1. In a sod-handling machine having a frame, an assembly carried by theframe for picking up sod to be handled while said frame travels in adirection relative to the sod, cyclically moving carrier means disposedto include a lower reach moving forwardly in the direction of travel andan upper reach moving rearwardly in an opposite direction for advancingthe sod through the machine, means supporting a leading portion of saidlower reach in closely spaced relation above the supporting surfacebeing exposed by removal of the sod therefrom, the forwardly movingportions of the carrier means being disposed for engaging that sod to bepicked up and serving to initiate upward lifting of the leading edge ofsaid sod, said lower reach moving in the direction of travel of themachine and including a series of cleats formed with pairs of outwardlyfacing sod-engaging ribs flanking an annular groove therebetween, andmeans supporting said cleats to move in a cyclic path to engage an edgeof the sod, and cyclically trained holddown means disposed above theregion of said initial lifting to form rearwardly moving backup surfaceportions against which said carrier means directs said sod at the timeof initiating said upward lifting of the sod, said holddown portionscooperating with said upper reach to positively withdraw the sod andadvance same for handling.
 2. In a sod-harvesting machine of a typeadaptEd to travel across a field of severed sod and having a frame, anassembly carried by the frame for picking up the sod from the fieldcomprising upper and lower cyclically driven carriers, said carriersbeing disposed with spaced, confronting portions thereof moving in acommon direction and spaced sufficiently closely to cause said portionsto engage the opposite surfaces of sod to transport sod therebetween,means supporting a leading end portion of the lower carrier to moveindependently of said frame to ride with terrain-following movement at alevel adapted to intercept an edge of sod to be picked up and uponengagement therewith to initiate upward movement of the sod edge, thelast said means further supporting said upper carrier disposed abovesaid leading end portion in the path of said upwardly moved edge andspaced sufficiently closely thereto to engage and draw the rising sodedge between said confronting portions.
 3. In a sod-harvesting machineof a type adapted to travel across a field of severed sod and having aframe, an assembly carried by the frame for picking up the sod from thefield comprising upper and lower cyclically driven carriers, saidcarriers being disposed with spaced, confronting portions thereof movingin a common direction to transport sod therebetween, a leading endportion of the lower carrier being disposed at a level adapted tointercept an edge of sod to be picked up and upon engagement therewithto initiate upward movement of the sod edge, said lower carrierincluding a first and second series of sod-engaging portions travellingin laterally disposed cyclic paths, means supporting each of said firstand second series to rise and fall freely in terrain-following movementswithin predetermined limits and independently of each other, said uppercarrier being disposed above said leading end portion in the path ofsaid upwardly moved edge and spaced sufficiently closely thereto toengage and direct the rising sod between said confronting portions. 4.In a sod-harvesting machine of a type adapted to travel across a fieldof severed sod and having a frame, an assembly carried by the frame forpicking up the sod from the field comprising upper and lower cyclicallydriven carriers, said carriers being disposed with spaced, confrontingportions thereof moving in a common direction to transport sodtherebetween, a leading end portion of the lower carrier being disposedat a level adapted to intercept an edge of sod to be picked up and uponengagement therewith to initiate upward movement of the sod edge, saidlower carrier including independently articulated cleats formed toinclude spaced parallel blade portions extending transversely of thecyclic path of the lower carrier, said upper carrier being disposedabove said leading end portion in the path of said upwardly moved edgeand spaced sufficiently closely thereto to engage and direct the risingsod between said confronting portions.
 5. In a sod-harvesting machine ofa type adapted to travel across a field of severed sod and having aframe, an assembly carried by the frame for picking up the sod from thefield comprising upper and lower cyclically driven carriers, saidcarriers being disposed with spaced, confronting portions thereof movingin a common direction to transport sod therebetween, a leading endportion of the lower carrier being disposed at a level adapted tointercept an edge of sod to be picked up and upon engagement therewithto initiate upward movement of the sod edge, said upper carrier beingdisposed above said leading end portion in the path of said upwardlymoved edge and spaced sufficiently closely thereto to engage and directthe rising sod between said confronting portions, said upper carrierincluding independently articulated backup surface portions arranged totravel in a generally planar path above said lower carrier inconfronting spaced relation thereto.